[4-3-3] Leno, Sokratis, Torreira, Laca and Auba to Start in Arsenal vs Man City best XI

Arsenal start the life without Arsene Wenger on Sunday, and the new manager Unai Emery have a tough task at hand with the opponent being the defending champions Manchester City.

There is no doubt that Manchester City walk into the 2018/19 season as the team to beat.

Nothing has changed in terms of playing staff at the Etihad, but it will take some beating to take back the title from the team that finished the league with a 19 lead over the nearest rivals.

Manchester City showed no rustiness in the 2-0 win against Chelsea in the Community Shield last week. It was a solid display and without a few key players who are still short of match fitness after participating in the World Cup.

Unai Emery had impressed in the pre-season with the Arsenal team, but the real test start on Sunday.

The Gunners made some decent signings as well, but I am afraid, these are no upgrades from what they already had.

To put it straight, their chances of finishing inside top four depends on the likes of Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Again, this leaves a scary picture as the Gunners finished 37 points behind the league winners last time.

Arsenal vs Manchester City Head-to-head

The Citizens bagged a 3-0 win they visited the Emirates last season. The reverse at the Etihad was another comfortable win (3-1) for the team in sky Blue.

City are unbeaten in the last 5 PL meetings with Arsenal, 3 wins and 2 draws.

The Gunners lost twice at home to Manchester City last season, both by same 3-0 margin, one of those was a cup game.

Arsenal vs Manchester City Prediction

The opening fixtures of English Premier League are always tricky, but you can bank on the Citizens since they are unbeaten in the last 9 matchday 1 matches.

On top of that, Pep have a solid record against Emery as well, with their previous 10 meetings resulting in 6 wins and 4 draws.